| First Palestinian refugee claimant
sent to U.S.
Coalition reacts angrily. More than 130 human
rights groups urge Coderre to call off deportations
The Gazette
Sunday, November 09, 2003
KINDA JAYOUSH
A coalition trying to block the deportation of
about 100 Palestinian refugee claimants in Montreal reacted angrily Friday after Abdel Majeed Ahmad became
the first member of the group to be evicted from Canada.
"Instead of granting Ahmad refugee status
on humanitarian grounds, Immigration deported him to the United States,"
said Rabie Masri, member of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian
Refugees.
"There are women and children among the
100 people. They are terrified. They all come from refugee camps in the Middle East,
where they do not have even basic rights. It is a nightmare for them to think
of going back there."
Ahmad, 23, was arrested on Tuesday.
He was scheduled to have a detention hearing
on Thursday, but was deported before the hearing, Masri said.
Negotiations are continuing with the office of
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre to sort out the issue of Palestinian
refugees in Montreal. The deportation came in the middle of the talks,
Masri said.
More than 130 human rights organizations have
sent letters to Coderre urging him to call off the deportations.
Ahmad was sent to the United States
because Immigration Department policy is to send refugee claimants back to
their point of entry.
Ahmad is in custody in the Clinton County jail in Plattsburgh, N.Y. -
"locked in there along with other refugees and criminals," Masri
said.
kjayoush@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright 2003 Montreal Gazette
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